 Efren Reyes |
No less than pool maestro Efren “Bata” Reyes will lead a star-studded cast vying for the $10,000 top purse in the First Quezon City 9-Ball Championships slated March 17 to 19 at the Trinoma Mall in Quezon City.
The 53-year-old Reyes will be one of 12 local players to be seeded, along with four foreign bets, to the 32-man main draw in this event, which is the first major billiards tournament in the country this year.
Aside from Reyes, the other top Filipino pool masters seeing action are fellow former world champions Ronnie Alcano and Alex Pagulayan, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, current world no.1 Dennis Orcollo, reigning national champion Lee Van Corteza, 2007 World Pool Championship runner-up Roberto Gomez, Joven Bustamante, Warren Kiamco, Gandy Valle, Rodolfo Luat and Ramil Gallego.
According to Bugsy Promotions head Perry Mariano, who is one of the organizers of the event, the remaining 16 slots will be disputed in qualifying tournaments to be held in different pool halls in Quezon City such as the Side Pocket Billiards Hall in Quezon Avenue, Paeng's Skybowl in Ortigas, and the New Farmer's Plaza in Cubao two days before the main event. There are also Qualifiers in Davao, Cebu, Bacolod and Tuguegarao.
“This will be the start of the series of tournaments we are planning to hold in key cities around the country,” said Mariano.
The QC 9-Ball tilt is supported by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) and the Quezon City Government.
“This is part of our intensified sports program, and we at the Quezon City government led by our beloved Mayor Sonny Belmonte would like to institutionalize this tournament as an annual event,” said QC council majority leader Coun. Ariel Inton, noting that most of the country's top billiards players are based in the city.
Other local cue artists, led by those from the country's three biggest stables – Puyat Sports, Bugsy Promotions and the Negros Billiards Stable – are expected to compete in this event that offers a total pot of $25,000 or P1-million.
For more details, contact Gandy Valle at 0916-958-9897.
File photo courtesy of Diana Hoppe
